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M. J. MILMOE.

AUTOMATIC LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1mm. I915.

1,815,737. Patentedsept. 9,1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

M. J. MILMOE. AUTOMATIC LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-18,1915.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

4 SHEE S-SHEET 2 M. I. MILMDE. AUTOMATIC LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-1B. I9I5.

Patented Se t. 9,1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3 W pip/1707:

f/ifya.

M J. MILMOE.

AUTOMATIC LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.18. I915.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

4 SHEETS SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT ouino MICHAEL J. MILMUE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIEl,ASSIGNOR T0 F. B. REDINGTON COMPANY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLIN 01S.

AUTOMATIC LABELING-MACHINE.

Application filed January 1&3, 19125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MICHAEL J. MILMOE, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook. and State of l[llino1s, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic LabelinMachines, of which the following is a speci cation.

This invention relates to machines for automatically extracting labels,one at a time, from, .1. supply, placing the mucilage upon the labels,and applying them to the articles to be labeled.

The invention consists substantially in the combination and arrangementhereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andmore particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of theupper portion, of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of the lower portion of theinvention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a portion of a machine to which theinvention is applied.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the machine to whichthe invention is applied.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the suction-head of theinvention as it is about to lift a label from the supply magazine. I

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of thesuction-head.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8--8 of Fig. 4t; and,

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional showing the shape of thesur bottom plate.

The framework on which thelabeling mechanism of this invention iscarried consists of a supporting portion 1 carrying a horizontaltable-like top 2. The labehng acev of the mechanism includes a maindrive shaft 3,

label-holding magazine 4:, an adhesive holder 5, a label-handling device6, and a work feeding device 7, together with various operating meansand accessories for these devices. The label holder .4 is fastened tothe Specification of Letters Patent.

view of the label-holding magazine Patented Sept. 9, 1919..

serial no. new.

table top 2 by means of suitable fastening devices, such as lag screws8, and comprises a bottom member 9 and side members 10 and 11. The sidemember 10 is pivoted to the bottom member 9 by a pivotal connection 12,and is held in an upright position by a spring 13. It may be swung tothe right as vlewed in Fig. f to open one side of the magazine, theamount of swing being limited by a stop 14. The side members 10 and 11carry lateral flanges 15 and 16, respectively, to hold the labels inplace in the magazine. inwardly projecting lugs 10 and 1 1 are carriedby side members 10 and 11, respectively, to contact with the upper edgeof the top label and limit. the upward movement of the labels in themagazine. Asshown in Fig. 3, the lug 10 is simply a narrow projectionwhile the lug 11 extends the full width of the magazine. Passing freelythrough a circular opening in the bottom member 9 is a rod or shaft 17shown more clearly in Fig. 1. Carried on the upper end of the rod 17 isa plate 18 on which the labels rest. The plate 18 is curved upwardly attwo of its edges, as shown in Fig. 10, to give a concave formation tothe. upper sur face ofthe pile of labels. This formation resists, to acertain extent, lifting of the labels by the suction-head since thebuckle must be taken out of each label as it is lifted, and thus theliability of lifting more than one label at a time is decreased. The'rod17 is free to slide up and down-through the member 9, and is resilientlyheld in an upper position with the plate 18 at the top of the magazineby means of a spring 19. The spring 19 surrounds the rod 17,'and issupported at its lower end by a bracket .-20 through an opening in whichthe rod 17 passes. "The collar 21 is adj ustably mounted on the rod 17and forms an abutment for the upper end of the spring 19. Rigidlyfastened to the rod 17 and parallel therewith is a ratchet-bar 22, thepurpose of which will be later pointed out. The rod 17 and plate 18 maybe locked in a lowered position by means of the latch 23 and catch 24.Mounted on the flanges 16, as shown more clearly in Figs. 4, 8 and 9,are spring members 25, which carry knife-like projections 26 arranged tobear against the edges of the labels 27 carried in the magazine, for apurpose to be later explained. A bracket 29 'astened to the lower sideof the table-topv ieia'rsr the cam 34 carried by the shaft 3. A spring35 is provided for holding the roller 33 in resilient contact with thecam 34. It will be seen that a rotation of the cam 34 will force thedetent 32 downwardly and to the right into contact with the teeth on theratchet-bar 22, and thus give a downward motion to the shaft 17 andplate 18. Tn its extreme upper position the detent 32 is broughtentirely out of contact with the ratchet-bar 22, leaving the shaft 17free to move upwardly under the pressure exerted by the spring 19. Thisup and down motion of the plate 18 is for the purpose of adjusting anyof the labels in the magazine that may have become displaced, as will bemore 2 fully explained. For the purpose of extracting labels from themagazine 4 and placing them. upon the article to be labeled, mechanismis provided, including a suction-- head 36, shown more clearly in Figs.1, 5,

36 6 and 7. This suctionhead is supported upon an arm 37, pivotallymounted as at 38 upon a standard 39 carried by the tabletop 2, andsecurely fastened thereto in any suitable manner.

head and leading upwardly therefrom, are tubes or pipes 40 and 41. Thepipes 40 and 41 are mounted to slide freely through the projections 42-and 43 carried by the arm 37.

Fastened to the pipes 40 and 41 to move 40 therewith is a collar44-carrying a stud 45. It will be seen that the suction-head 36 may bemoved up and down by raising or lowering the stud 45. This up and downmotion is produced by the lever 46, which has at I 45 one end a camtrack 47, upon which the lug 45 is adapted to rest. Pivotally secured tothe other end of the lever 46 is a bar 48 which extends downwardlytherefrom, and is secured by means of a pivot 49 at its lower 5 end, asshown in Fig. 4, to a lever 50. The

lever 50 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 51 secured to the lower sideof the table-top '2, and has a roller 52 working in a groove 53 in a camcarried by the main shaft 3. 1t

will be apparent that rotation of the cam member will produce areciprocatory motion of the lever 46, causing a vertical reciprocationof the suction-head 36, for a purpose to be more fully explained.Transverse reciprocation of the suction-head 36 is secured by means ofthe lever 54. This lever 54 isv pivoted at 55 on a bracket secured tothe under side of the tabletop, and is connected to the arm 37 by meansof a link 56. The, link 56 is pivoted to the lever 54 by means-Connected with the suction.

labels which of a pivot 57, and to the arm 37 by means of a pivot 58.Reciprocatory motion is imparted to the lever 54 by means of a camgroove 59 carried by a cam secured to the main shaft 3. By means of thecombined ac- 7 tion of the lever 46 controlled by the cam groove 53, andthe link 56 controlled by the cam groove 59, the desired motion of thesuction-head 36 can be obtained. The construction of the suction-head 36is shown more clearly in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. A hollow casting 60-carriesat its lower end a flattened bell or contact portion 61. This portion 61is made of the proper size and shape to'fit upon the labels to behandled- A perforated plate 62 is secured to the bell 61, and a cushionmember 63 of yielding frictional material, such as rubber, is fastenedto the bottom of the plate 62 and has perforations 64 registering withthe perforations in the plate 62. The perforations 64 at one side of thesuction-head have grooves 65 cut in the cushionmember 63, as shown inFigs. 6 and 7, to increase the suction area on the left side of thesuctionhead, as viewed in Fig. 5. The upper end of the suction-head 36has a screw-threaded connection with the pipes 40 and 41. The pipe 40has its upper end connected in any suitable manner to a vacuum-.device,not

shown, for-exhausting the air from the suction-head. The pipe 41 hassimilar connection with the compression pump for the pur pose ofsupplying compressed air to the suction-head at suitable intervals, forpurposes to be explained. 24 valve 66 has an opening. 67 therethrough,adapted to connect the interior of the head, 36, with either the pipe 40or the pipe-41. The valve 66 is held in place by means of the spring 68,and has secured on the end opposite the sprin 68 a crank 69 carryin atits end a cam roller 70. A coil spring 71 is attached to the crank 69,and normallyholds the valve 66 in position to connect the head 36 withthe suction-pipe 40. 110 The head 36 carries a projection 170, shownmore clearly in Fig. 6. In the projection 170 is a cylindrical opening171, in which is mounted for reciprocation a piston or plunger 72.-This. plunger is normally pressed outwardly by a spring 73, and carriesat its outer end a cam roller 7 4. The opening 171 is covered by a plate75. The opening in the plate 7 5 does not fit closely aboutthe plunger,but allowsfree passage of air to and from the opening 171. The plunger72, however, makes air-tight connection with the opening 171. To preventany oil from reaching the cushion member 63 and the are being handled, aplug 76 and wells 77 are provided- The plug 76 is hollow and has at itsupper end a covering 78. Perforations 79 permit free passage of air, butare so located that any oil that may be found. in the head will not passtherethrough. Openings 79 and ball-valves 80 are provided to permit oilto drain from the interior of the head 36 into the well 7 7, the

valves closing the openings against the on trance of air from theoutside. A circular groove 81 extends around the head 36 to catch anyoil that may run down the outside of the head.

At the left of the machine, as shown at Figs. 1 and 3, is an adhesivereceptacle 5, and an adhesive applying roller 82. Any suitable means forrotating the roller may be provided. A rack 83 and gearing 8 1 will beshown for this purpose in the drawing. The rack 83 is reciprocated by alever 85 havin a cam roller 86 working in the cam slot 8? shown in Fig.2. The gears 861 may, if it is desired, be provided with any well knownform of pawl and ratchet mechanism, so that the roller 82 will be drivenin one direction only. A scraper 88 bears against the roller 82 toremove any excess adhesive that may adhere to the roller.

The specific mechanism for feeding the articles to be labeled, such asthe bottles 89, forms no part of the present invention, and any suitableand well-known mechanism may be used for this purpose. In the form shownin the drawing two supports 90 are provided forming a trough-shapedguide at their upper ends, in which the articles to be labeled rest andare moved along. Thefeeding of the bottles is accomplished by an arm 91secured to a head 92, which is mounted in any suitable manner forvertical and longitudinal. motion. Vertical motion is imparted to thehead 92 by means of the cam 93 working on the cam roller 94: carried bythe arm 95. Longitudinal motion is imparted to the head 92 by the arm 96supported on the fixed pivot 97, and operated by the cam 98. The cam 98has a groove which cooperates with the cam roller 99, as shown in Figs.2 and 4. Bythis mechanism a fourway motion is imparted to the arm 91which travels forwardly in its upper position, and baekwardly in itslower position, moving one bottle into position beneath the suctionhead6O each time the suction-head moves into the label-applyin g position. Acam track 100 shown in Figs. 1 and 3 is mounted on a bracket 101supported in any suitable manner upon the mucilage supporting stand 102.This cam track 100 cooperates with the cam roller 71 to prevent thesuction-head 60 from contacting with the mucilage roller 82, undercertain conditions, a as will be explained. Another cam track 103,shown. in- Figs. 1, 3 and 5, is carried by the upright 39, and isadapted to cooperate with the cam roller to shift the valve 66 duringthe downward movement of the suction-head 60. The cam track 103 isofl-set, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the suction-head may pass the trackon its upward motion without the roller 70 striking the track, sincethis up ward motion takes place while the suctionhead is swung to theright, as shown in Fig. 5.

The operation of the labeling machine is as follows Starting with thesuction-head 36 in the position shown in Fig. 1, power is applied to themain shaft 3, and the upper end of the lever 54 is thrown to the right,as viewed in Fig. 1, by the action of the cam upon its lower end. At thesame time, the portion d7 of the lever 46 is lowered, and thesuction-head is thus brought into contact with the labels 27 in thelabel holding magazine, as shown in Fig. 5. The suctionhead 36 does notrest flat upon the labels 27, but contacts only at the rear edge nearthe retaining lug 1. During this time the valve 66 is held in positionby the spring 71 to connect the suction-head 36 with the suction-pipe10. As soon as the head 36:.eomes in contact with the uppermostlabel,-this label is drawn upwardly to lie flat upon the rear portion ofthe face of the head. The front portion of the label is prevented from,rising into contact with the head 36, by means of the retaining lug 10.After the head 36 has thus come into contact with the labels, it thenmoves a short distance to the left into the position shown in Fig. 5,the result of this action being to draw the rear portion of the labelfrom under lug 11', and buckle the front portion slightly, as shown inthe figure. The head is now lifted, and the front portion of the labeldrawn from under the lug 10. This upward motion by means of the lug 10pro duces an action, similar to that produced byturning a bunch of cardsheld between the thumb and finger for separating the top card from thoseunderneath. In this way the top label is separated from those below.During the forward motion previously mentioned, by which the labels aredrawn from under the lug 11', the knife edges26 are pressed in contactwith the edges of the label, and tend to hold them from slidingforwardly with the suctiomhead. The top label, however, being firmlyheld against the suction-head, is brought forward, its edges beingslightly mutilated as it is freed from the knife edges. Since the labelsbelow are notheld by the air pressure as is the top label, they areretained in their position by means of the knife edges against anytendency to move forwardly caused by adhesion to the top label. Duringthe upward movementof the head 36 which draws the label from under thelug 10, there is, of course, a tendency for the lug 10 to strip thelabel from the suction-head. This tendency is especially strong at thefront or left side of the suction-head, as shown in Fig. '5. To overcomethis tendency the openings 64 on this side of the suction-head aregrooved, as shown at 65, in Fig. 7, to

surface of the label. The head now moves tle,

downwardly into contact with the article to be labeled, as shown in Fig.4:. During this downward motion the cam roller 70 strikes the track 103,and shifts the valve 66 so that at the same time the label comes intocontact with the bottle, the head 36 is disconnected from thesuction-pipe 4:0 and connected with the compression pipe 41. Air is thenforced outwardly through the openings 6% in the suction-head, and. thelabel is forcibly removed from the suctionhead and wrapped partiallyaround the hotas shown in Fig. 4. The suction-head then moves upwardly.intil the roller 70 is freed from the track 103, and the spring 71returns the valve to its original position. The head then moves back tothe magazine for another label, and the action is re: peated'. Thearticle 89 is moved forwardly under any suitable mechanism forcompleting the application of the label. As the mechanism foraccomplishing; this forms no part of the present invention, it is notshown or described. During the time that the label is being suppliedwith adhesive and applied to the article to be labeled, thecam 34operates upon the lever 31 to throw the detent 32 forwardly anddownwardly a number of times. This motion brings the detent 32 intocontact with the ratchet teeth on the bar 22, and gives the plate 18 adownward motion, and reciprocates it up and down anumberoftimes whileheldina,

slightly lowered position. The object of this reciprocation isLtoreadjust any of the upper labels that may have been {disarranged by theaction-of the suction-head in removing the upper label.- The loweringof-the plate 18 and its reciprocation allows any such disarranged labelto drop back into its proper position. As the, labels are removed fromthe top of the stack, the

spring 19 forces the plate 18 upwardly so thatat each cycle of operationa new label is held in position against the lugs 10 and 11. tobe removedby the suctionhead. The bar 22 is provided with a series of ratchetteeth so that'therew'ill be a tooth in position to contact with thedetent 32 regardless of the position of the rod 17.

Provision is made for preventing the head 36 from contacting with theadhesive applying roller in case the head should fail to pick up a labelat any operation. This result is accomplished by the roller 7 1 and thecam track 100. At each operation when a label is picked up, it closesall of the openings 64- against entrance of air into the suction-head.This produces a partial vacuum within the suction-head which continuesas long as the label remains in place over the holes 64:. Because ofthis partial vacuum within the suction-head, air pressure on the plunger7 2 forces the plunger inwardly against the'action of the spring 73andthe roller 74: is thus held close to the be withdrawn. In this casethe roller -74 ,is held in an outer position, as shown in Fig. 3, and onthe downward motion of the head the roller strikes the cam track 100,

and the head is prevented from coming into contact with the adhesiveapplying roller. As the labels are moved over the mucilage roller, theyare prevented from iadhering thereto by fingers 105 secured to theadhesive holder, and bearing against the roller 82.

ll claim: 1 f

1. In a labeling device, a'source for supplying labels arranged to holdthe labels in approximately. horizontal position, means for liftinglabels upwardly from said source and presentingsaid labels to adhesiveapplying mechanism, and means for positively forcing said labelsdownwardly from said.

first mentioned means onto articles to be labeled. Y p e 2. In a deviceof the class described, a source for supplying labels, an adhesiveapplying mechanism, a support for articles positioned intermediate thesaid source and.

said adhesive applying device, and means for carrying'labels from thesaid source past the said article support and the adhesive applyingdevice and then back in contact with the adhesive applying device, andfinally. to the article heldin the said article support.

3. Ina labeling machina'a lifter having a' suction-head, an exhaustpipe. connected with said lifter, a'compression pipe connected with saidlifter, and a three-way valve in said lifter adapted to connect saidsuction head with either said exhaust pipe or said compression pipe,said valve being arranged to change the connection between said pipesand the operating surface of the entire at one time.

4. In a label-handling device, a support,

an arm pivoted to said support, a lifting.

head

, mechanism slida-bly mounted on aid arm, means for sliding said liftingmechanism on said arm into and out oi contact with an article to belabeled, and means for rocking said arm on its pivot to move saidlifting mechanism into position to receive a label.

5. In a labeling device, a support, an arm pivoted on said support, alifter slidably i'nounted on said arm, a lever pivoted on said supportfor sliding said lifter upwardly and downwardly on said arm to move itaway from and into contact with an article to be labeled, a second leverpivoted on said slmport, a link pivotally connected to said arm and saidsecond lever, and cam means lior operating said levers.

6. ln a labeling device, a support, an arnr pivoted on said support, alifting device slidably mounted on said arm, a lever for sliding saidlilting device on said arm, a lever for swinging said arm on said pivot,a labelholding mechanism, an adhesive applying mechanism, anarticle-holding mechanism, and cam means for operating said levers andmoving said lifter successively into. position over said label-holdingmechanism, said adhesive applying mechanism and said articleholdingmechanism.

7. In a labeling machine, means for holding an article to be labeled, alabel-carrier, mechanism for moving said carrier and means in the pathof movement of said labelcarrier to cause disconnection of the labelcarried thereby from the label-carrier, when the label-carrier reaches aposition over the article to be labeled.

8. In a labeling machine, a label-holding device, a label carrier, meansfor moving said carrier, a stop on said label carrier, and means in thepath of movement of said label carrier to operate said step to cause thelabel to be discharged from said label carrier when said label carrierhas reached a predetermined position in its cycle.

9. In a labeling machine, the combination of a magazine for holding asupply of labels, a suction-head for removing; the top labels of saidsupply, one at a time, an air exhaust pipe adapted to be connected withsaid suctionhead, a compression air pipe adapted to be connected withsaid suctionhead, means for selectively connecting said pipes with saidhead, an adhesive applying roller, a support for articles to be labeled,mechanism for moving the suction-head with the label carried therebyfrom the label magazine upwardly and forwardly past the article supportand adhesive applying roller,

thence downwardly and backwardly in contact with the adhesive applyingroller, thence downwardly into contact with the article to belabeled,'and then back to label-lifting position, and means forconnecting the suction-head 'Wlilll the exhaust pipe during the liftingand carrying operation and for dis connecting the head from the exhaustpipe when the label is in contact with the article to be labeled.

10. In a labeling machine, the combination of a magazine for holdinga'supply of articles, a suction-head for removing the top labels of saidsupply, one at a time, an air can haust pipe adapted to be connectedwith said suction-head, a compression air pipe adapted to be connectedwith said suction-head, a valve for selectively connecting said pipeswith said head, an adhesive applying roller, a support for articles tobe labeled, mechanism for moving articles to be labeled along saidsupport and positioning them at proper intervals in position to receivelabels, mechanisnri or moving said suction-head with the label carriedthereby from the label-holding magazine upwardly and forwardly past thearticle support and adhesive applying roller, downwardly and backwardlyin contact with the mucilage roller, thence downwardly into contact withthe article to be labeled, means for connecting the suction-head withthe exhaust pipe during the lifting and carrying operation, means fordisconnecting the head exhausting the air from said suction head,

an adhesive applying device, a support for articles to be labeled,mechanism for moving said suction head with the label carried therebyfrom the label holding means to the adhesive applying device and thenceinto contact with the article to be labeled, and means for disconnectingsaid suction head from the air exhausting means When the label is incontact with the article to be labeled.

12. In a labeling machine, means for holding a supply of labels, a labellifting device for removing labels from said supply, an adhesiveapplying device, and means for moving said label lifting device fromsaid supply past said adhesive applying device and thence backwardly incontact with said adhesive applying device and thereafter into contactWith an article to be labeled.

13. In a labeling machine, means for holding an article to be labeled,an adhesive applying device and means for carrying a label from saidsupply past said adhesive applying device and thence backwardly incontact with said adhesive applying device and to the article held insaid holding means. a

14. In a labeling machine, means for hold ing a supply of labels, meansfor holding

